Cream Cheese Pound Cake and Brown Sugar Pound Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

CREAM CHEESE POUND CAKE and BROWN SUGAR PECAN POUND CAKE with BROWNED BUTTER FROSTING
Pound cakes taste fabulous after they've sat (covered) a couple of days. They're never as good on the day they're baked.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake - a delicate white cake
3 sticks butter (salted), room temp
1 - 8 oz bar cream cheese (not low fat), room temp
3 C white sugar
6 lg eggs, room temp
3C all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 T vanilla extract
Cream butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Don't over beat.  Gradually add sugar, beat well. Add eggs one at a time. Sift flour and salt. Gradually add to wet mixture. Stir in vanilla. Pour into well greased tube pan with a parchment or waxed paper liner on the bottom. Bake at 300 for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
This is not the same as the Sour Cream Pound Cake I make at Christmas. I may like it better!

Brown Sugar & Pecan Pound Cake - This cake comes out high and heavy and so so delicious.
Cream together:
3 sticks butter (salted), room temp
1 pound brown sugar (2 C)
1 C white sugar
Add 6 eggs one at a time
Add 1 C milk, alternating with
3 C all purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
Mix and then add
1 t vanilla and
1 C chopped pecans (optional)
Bake 325 degrees in a large prepared tube pan for 1-1/2 hours.

Browned Butter Frosting
2 sticks salted butter
2 C powdered sugar (16 oz)
1/4 C half and half cream (or milk)
1 t vanilla
In a saucepan, melt 2 sticks butter over medium temp, stirring constantly. It will be a constant boil. Continue for about 8 minutes until it has passed the golden stage and dark crumbs start to develop. Pour all of it, including the crumbs, into a glass bowl (put a metal spoon in to absorb the heat so the glass doesn't crack). Let it sit a few minutes and then remove the spoon and refrigerate until it is very cold and the edges start to harden. Scrape into a mixing bowl and mix until the butter looks a bit fluffy. Add powdered sugar and milk, alternating, ending with the powdered sugar. You can add/subtract sugar depending on thickness desired.  Add vanilla and mix. If you use these exact measurements, the frosting will be a bit loose, easy to ice cake, but won't slide down the sides. You will see specks from the burnt butter in the frosting, which to me, adds character. Decorate with pecan halves. This is my absolute favorite icing and well worth the extra time for cooking and cooling. It is really good on hummingbird cake too.

Hummingbird Cake

Our oldest son turned 30 on May 12th, but with Mother's Day on that same day, and living 5 hours away, I didn't get to bake a cake to celebrate.  Since the whole family is going to meet over the Memorial Day weekend at our Cocoa Beach timeshare, Robert asked for a cake, homemade and not vanilla and not chocolate...a SPECIAL cake. Read: the more difficult, the better!

I didn't want to shred carrots for carrot cake and he doesn't like the texture of coconut, so my choices were narrowed down a bit.  Then I came across Southern Living's Hummingbird Cake with Browned Butter Icing. Instead of putting coconut flakes in the mix, I substituted half the vegetable oil with coconut  for a very mild coconut flavor. I also chose to put 1/2 cup chopped pecans in the mix. I only had two bananas ( maybe a cup and a quarter) so I chose to use the whole 20 oz can of pineapple chunks, tossed with juice into the food processor with the bananas to make into crushed. Robert said that the pineapples were not big enough, so I will just pulse them a few times the next time I make this cake. The mix came out a bit runny, so I added another cup of flour, an egg, 1/2 cup sugar and a little more salt and baking soda.   The mix seemed more normal consistency and this too is why it took longer to bake. I baked in a sheet cake pan and it took about fifty minutes to bake. I just kept doing the toothpick test until it didn't come out wet.  The cake is big and beautiful, fragrant and heavy.  It has been cooling for over an hour and is still not cool enough for icing.

Here is the printed version from Southern Living:
Hummingbird Cake
Cake Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon table salt 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
2 cups diced ripe bananas (about 3 medium) 
3 large eggs, beaten 
1 cup chopped toasted pecans 
1 cup vegetable oil
1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple, undrained

Cake Directions 
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in bananas and next 5 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into 4 greased and floured 9-inch square or round cake pans.
2. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

Browned Butter Frosting

Ingredients

1 cup butter
1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar 
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Cook butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, 8 to 10 minutes or until butter begins to turn golden brown. Remove pan immediately from heat, and pour butter into a small bowl. Cover and chill 1 hour or until butter is cool and begins to solidify.
2. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add sugar alternately with milk, beginning and ending with sugar. Beat at low speed until well blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

The icing seemed loose and so I added about a cup more powdered sugar.  Also, I didn't have milk and used half-and-half in its place. It tasted fabulous!

I didn't want to add the cream cheese custard filling that is commonly used between layers of this cake because, first of all, mine is one layer, and secondly, I don't want to have to refrigerate it.  The cooling time for my big cake is long. It has been an hour and a half and I just flipped the cake over to cool the other side of this dense cake.  I hope it is good as it smells.

Here is Southern Living's cream cheese custard filling that goes between the layers of the cake:
Cream Cheese Custard Filling
Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour 
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, cubed and softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation
Whisk together first 2 ingredients in a heavy saucepan; whisk in eggs and milk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 8 to 10 minutes or until mixture reaches a chilled pudding-like thickness. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly; boil, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat, and whisk in cream cheese and vanilla until cheese melts. Cool to room temperature (about 1 hour). Place plastic wrap directly on mixture (to prevent a film from forming), and chill 6 to 24 hours.

AUNT LOUISE'S LEMON SUPREME CAKE - my favorite cake ever!

Each time I am near a citrus tree in bloom, I can think of none other than Aunt Louise's Lemon Supreme Cake. I smell this cake and it brings me back to my newlywed days in Clearwater, Florida in the early 1980's, where when the orange trees were blossoming and the aroma in the air was mouthwateringly divine!

This morning, while watering my plants, I noticed a pile of teeny pearl-sized lemons on my new Meyer Lemon Tree and thought of my aunt and her wonderful lemon cake. Aunt Louise used to bring a Lemon Supreme Cake to most family functions and coming from a large family, we had a lot of gatherings! Thank you, Aunt Louise, for sharing your recipe so many years ago.  It is my absolute favorite dessert of all time.

AUNT LOUISE'S LEMON SUPREME CAKE

Cake Ingredients
1 package Duncan Heinz lemon supreme cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1 package lemon jello
4 eggs, room temperature

Beat eggs, add all remaining ingredients and beat smooth with mixer.
Cook in prepared bundt or tube pan (I use Baker's Joy) at 350F for 45 minutes.
Let sit in pan for five minutes, then invert onto a pretty plate.

While cake is baking, prepare icing to pour on the cake while it is still hot.
Icing - makes 1 cup
1-1/2 cup confectioners sugar
2 T soft butter
4 T Real Lemon (bottled)
Blend together icing ingredients.  Should be watery.
Wait five minutes, then remove cake from pan, place on dish with a lip (some of the icing will run off the cake) and drizzle icing all over hot cake. Most of the icing absorbs into the cake and is so so good!
Let cool and serve.  Inside is a pretty vibrant yellow color.  Yummm.

Caramel Cake

I want to try this, so let's keep this recipe handy!

Classic Southern Caramel Cake

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups flour, self-rising
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare three 9-inch cake pans by greasing them and adding optional parchment paper. Beat butter until light and fluffy and then add sugar and beat for about 5 more minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and mix well after each. Add flour and buttermilk, alternately, beginning and ending with flour and mix well after each. Add vanilla and beat well. Divide among pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until set.

Turn out of pans onto cooling racks and allow to cool completely. Prepare Southern Caramel Icing as cakes are cooling then frost the cake.

Southern Caramel Frosting

2 cups sugar
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup Crisco
½ cup butter
1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix all ingredients in a 3-4 quart cast iron dutch oven.
Swirl pan to keep ingredients moving in the pan. Cook to softball stage 235º – 245º on a candy thermometer or when tested in a cup of cold water. Remove from heat and beat with a wooden spoon until creamy and ready to spread.

No thermometer? Do the cold water test:

Take a some of the caramel and drop it into a bowl or cup of cold water. Give it a few seconds to cool. Fish around in the bowl or cup of cold water and try to retrieve the caramel and make a little ball with it.

If you stick your fingers into the bowl, pull out a gooey mess and you can't do anything but smear the caramel, you need to boil the caramel some more. There is still too much water in your caramel and the concentration of sugar is too low. The caramel may even form little threads in the water, but if you cannot get the threads to form into a ball, you have some more boiling to do.

Southern Pound Cake

My father always insists, "no cards, no gifts" and so I offered something he will not turn down...

"Daddy, I want to bake you a cake for Father's Day.  What would you like?"

"Pound cake!" he said without missing a beat.

And so I did and it was absolutely wonderful.  I baked at his house and his nose was twitching when the wonderful aroma wafted into the family room.  As soon as I turned it from the pan, I cut him a piece and served it with a handful of fresh blueberries.  Pound cake is always better after it has had a chance to sit for 24 hours, but a smidgeling taste confirmed that this was one heck of a good cake!  With my husband, brother in law, and two sisters there, plus the big slice we brought mom in the hospital, there was only half a cake left on day one.    Happy Father's day, y'all!

Southern Pound Cake

1 cup butter (1/2 lb.)

1/2 cup oil

2 1/2 cups sugar

5 eggs

3 cups flour

1 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. almond ext.

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Cream butter and oil until light.  Add sugar gradually, creaming well, add eggs one at a time.  Beat well after each addition.  Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Combine milk and flavorings, add alternately with dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients, blend thoroughly after each addition.  Turn into tube pan well greased and floured in bottom only.

Bake at 325* for 1 hour 25 min.

Kudos to Southern Hospitality Blog for the yummy recipe.  I will be making this one again for sure!

AWESOME STRAWBERRY BUTTER-CREAM FROSTING

3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, a bit cooler than room temp. (not mushy)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sweetened sliced strawberries, thawed and drained pretty well

• Chop strawberries in small food processor until pureed.  I don't have a processor so I mashed mine up with the back of a fork until they were in really tiny pieces.  Mine was not watery, but I didn't do anything to dry it either.  Set aside
• Beat butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined and looks like thick icing. Add vanilla and the strawberry puree,  and mix on med or low.  They say not to over-mix or frosting will incorporate too much air, but I don't see a problem with that at all!
• Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.  It comes out pale pink with wonderful little red strawberry bits throughout.
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I baked a box cake mix, strawberry of course, and topped with this icing.  It was just enough for a double layer 8" cake.  This is a birthday gift for my son's new mother-in-law, Sweet Miss Lori.   I didn't get a piece, but a taste of the icing verified what I already knew - - YUM YUM YUM !

Chocolate Cake - Best Ever!

I have been very sick with bronchitis and pneumonia, and after a doctor visit yesterday and a whopping dose of everything, I had a spurt of energy, so I sanitized myself and hit the kitchen.  Yesterday David's girlfriend Amanda and I baked a cake.  We chose a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Better Homes and Garden's 9x13 The Pan That Can, called Our Best-Ever Chocolate Cake.  Instead of using their recipe for Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting (we are not the sour icing type), we made basic cocoa icing from the recipe on the Hershey's Cocoa box. The icing recipe makes too much, so I'm giving the recipe, halved. This cake is moist and soft and terrific, and I'm not wild about chocolate cake.  The icing is wonderful as always.

You can tell when David has been hitting the cake. He doesn't like the edges.

CHOCOLATE CAKE
3/4 cups (1-1/2 sticks) real butter, room temp (I use salted)
3 eggs, room temp
2 cups all-purpose flour (I use Gold Medal)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Hershey's)
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla (I use real vanilla - make my own)
1-1/2 cups milk (no milk, so I used half and half)
By the way, it is a MORTAL SIN to used low fat milk in baking, so I probably reserved myself a spot in Heaven for using half and half milk. Same goes with baking with fake sugar or fake butter, or to skimp on the salt.

Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temperature for a half hour.  Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan, set pan aside.  (I used canned spray veg oil.) Preheat oven to 350F (glass calls for 325F).  Do NOT turn on the convection oven fan for bready items, as it results in Sahara Desert dry cakes and breads. Experience speaks!

In medium bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Because I like a soft textured cake, I stirred with a whisk, then sifted the dry ingredients one time.  

In a large bowl (I used my fabuloso Kitchen Aid Mixer) beat softened butter on medium to med-high speed for 30 seconds.  Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time, beating on medium speed until well mixed (3-4 minutes). Scrape sides and blend another 2 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.  Beat in vanilla.

Alternately add flour mixture and milk, beating on low after each addition until blended before adding more.  Beat on med-high an additional 20-30 seconds after everything is blended and then spread into prepared pan.

Bake 35-40 minutes, testing with a toothpick to the center.  If it comes out dry, it's ready.  Place pan on wire rack until completely cooled, then spread icing on top.

5/5/14
I made cupcakes with this same recipe. If you want cupcakes, this recipe makes 30 big cupcakes (I should have split them further into 36, some were oversized) in regular-sized cupcake tins, using Christmas liners in May because that's how I roll.  Less baking time needed - 25 minutes  at 325F worked for me.  Keep an eye on things!

HERSHEY'S COCOA ICING
(This recipe is one-half of the one on the Hershey's box.)
1/2 stick real butter, softened (I use salted)
1/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1-1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk (I use half and half)
1/2 tsp vanilla (I use real vanilla, homemade)
3-4 T corn syrup added to the mix will make the cupcake tops look shiny.

Stir cocoa into softened butter. (Never soften butter for icing in microwave - it changes the integrity of the butter, making a runny icing.) Alternately add powdered sugar and most of the milk, beating on medium until it is spreading consistency.  Add remaining milk if the icing seems stiff.  Finally, add vanilla and corn syrup, mix again.  Makes perfect amount of delicious soft, fluffy icing for a sheet cake or a truckload of cupcakes.

I am not a big fan of chocolate cake (but cocoa icing is the bomb), so I was very surprised at how extremely delicious this cake turned out.  It is the Best Ever Chocolate Cake recipe!  Maybe I'll have a piece with my coffee for breakfast.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

My neighbor Cathy came over for dinner tonight and afterwards we baked TWO pineapple upside down cakes; one for Cathy's adult twirling team and one for us to share. Oh they smell so good!

For topping:

· 1 can sliced pineapple, reserve juice for batter

· 3/4 stick unsalted butter

· 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

For batter:

· 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

· 2 to 3 teaspoons ground cardamom

· 2 teaspoons baking powder

· 1/4 teaspoon salt

· 3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened

· 1 cup granulated sugar

· 2 large eggs

· 1 teaspoon vanilla

· 1 tablespoon dark rum

· 1/2 cup pineapple juice

· 2 tablespoons dark rum for sprinkling over cake

Special equipment:

· a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make topping:
Cut pineapple crosswise into 3/8-inch-thick pieces. Melt butter in skillet. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in concentric circles, overlapping pieces slightly.

Make batter:
Sift together flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and rum. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in pineapple juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.)

Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cake stand in skillet 5 minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together). Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet. Sprinkle rum over cake and cool on plate on a rack.

Serve cake just warm or at room temperature.

Sour Cream Pound Cake

SOUR CREAM POUND CAKE   The cake I bake for all my friends at Christmas!
½ lb. butter (2 sticks) room temperature
3 c. sugar
½ tsp salt
6 eggs room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. baking soda
3 drops lemon extract (1/8 tsp)
1 c. sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one a a time. Add vanilla and lemon. Sift all dry ingredients THREE TIMES. Mix into wet mixture, alternating dry ingredients with sour cream.
Bake at 300 degrees for 1½ hours in tall 2-piece tube pan. Cool five minutes in the pan. Slip the outside of the pan off  and cool to room temp before removing the metal base/tube.  Pound cakes meld with time, so don't plan on eating the day you bake, but wait a day or two for the flavors to intensify.